25th December.
23rd December. In reading about the recent tsunami that killed many in the Sumatra and Java region, I came across this compelling video of Anak Krakatau volcano erupting during the night at the end of October (plus a close-up version, filmed from a drone in daylight, here):
It appears that the tsunami was caused by paroxysmal explosive activity.. more here. When too close is too close.
And here, filmed from the air, largely hidden by clouds of gases, steam, smoke and ejected material is Anak Krakatau in its death throes:
And here it is - as it was filmed 3 days ago - hard to believe that it's the same volcano:
22nd December. Saw an amazing spectacle this evening. We walked into Bayonne to watch the release of hundreds - what am I saying?! - thousands of Japanese lanterns into the night sky. It was just the night for a hot wine to kick start the system too.
I think in England the Fun Police would have slapped a banning order on it ('Elf 'n Safety mate). It was a stirring sight as thousands of the metre-high lanterns rose gracefully up into the heavens (fortunately there wasn't a breath of wind). I've never seen anything like it in my life.. There were so many families there with young children and I'm sure the magnificent spectacle created an unforgettable memory for them all as the lanterns, uneasily at first, lifted slowly up into the night sky. It seemed as though they represented all the hopes and dreams for Christmas and beyond of those present - very moving to watch:
This was followed by a firework display, accompanied by music. The last song was this one - and I'm convinced someone let all the remaining fireworks off at once! It starts at 0:36..
According to a police estimate, there were between 50,000 - 60,000 people present. Afterwards, we headed off into the centre and found a table at a restaurant (now closed) - where we chose the "all you can eat" beef option from the "dead but could still be resuscitated" menu. Excellent beef - tender as anything - and it could be cut with a butter knife. And for a change, we also put a bottle of Graves out of its misery!
It's always during the last few days before Christmas that doubts set in about the presents that you've chosen for your loved one. Was it a good idea to have bought her a pair of slippers with matching oven gloves*? How many times will she watch the DVD of the 2018 Six Nations rugby*? Will a new vacuum cleaner hit the spot*? ☺ While I think I'm pretty safe this year, there's always that lingering doubt. Too late to do anything about it now though.
* Just in case there's any doubt, I bought Madame none of the above! However, my brother once bought his wife (a stranger to the kitchen) a food processor. <ouch!> I believe he was seen wearing it not long after!
In the meantime, there's never a better moment than the shortest day of the year to enjoy the mountain scenery of the Pays Basque.. (full screen!) plus a report on Pierre Oteiza's pigs.. in Les Aldudes, a must-see village up in the Pyrenees close to the border..
19th December. Madame's presents have been safely smuggled into the house - I've just one more to wrap and then I'm done. I also need to take one last trip down to the cellar to make sure that there are no major shortfalls in the bottle department.
Most days I take a look at British Media online - and I shudder at much of the tosh I read there. New words continually bubble up to the surface of all the froth - and one curious addition to the trendy hack's lexicon is wellness. I have no idea what this means. Then there's the all-consuming obsession with celebrity - especially when the celebrities in question are total nonentities as far as I'm concerned. I'm convinced we have far too much media. I did ask a GP friend in England recently if he knew what wellness was and he had no idea. So what is it? Answers on a postcard please to the usual address.
Here's one of those hyper-concentrated videos that attempts, in the modern way, to cram the Pays Basque into a frantic 2½ minutes. To enjoy? Dilute to taste with a / few / many / glass(es) of sangria / Jurançon / Irouléguy / whisky (insert drink of choice) - and r-e-l-a-x!
18th December. A disturbing statistic for casual observers of the European Union: according to figures released by the federal statistical office, Germany had a surplus of €48.1bn in the first six months of 2018, equivalent to 2.9 per cent of economic output — the highest level since German reunification in 1990. By contrast, France, the other major EU political player, had a €58bn budget deficit in 2017.
It appears that the tsunami was caused by paroxysmal explosive activity.. more here. When too close is too close.
And here, filmed from the air, largely hidden by clouds of gases, steam, smoke and ejected material is Anak Krakatau in its death throes:
22nd December. Saw an amazing spectacle this evening. We walked into Bayonne to watch the release of hundreds - what am I saying?! - thousands of Japanese lanterns into the night sky. It was just the night for a hot wine to kick start the system too.
I think in England the Fun Police would have slapped a banning order on it ('Elf 'n Safety mate). It was a stirring sight as thousands of the metre-high lanterns rose gracefully up into the heavens (fortunately there wasn't a breath of wind). I've never seen anything like it in my life.. There were so many families there with young children and I'm sure the magnificent spectacle created an unforgettable memory for them all as the lanterns, uneasily at first, lifted slowly up into the night sky. It seemed as though they represented all the hopes and dreams for Christmas and beyond of those present - very moving to watch:
This was followed by a firework display, accompanied by music. The last song was this one - and I'm convinced someone let all the remaining fireworks off at once! It starts at 0:36..
According to a police estimate, there were between 50,000 - 60,000 people present. Afterwards, we headed off into the centre and found a table at a restaurant (now closed) - where we chose the "all you can eat" beef option from the "dead but could still be resuscitated" menu. Excellent beef - tender as anything - and it could be cut with a butter knife. And for a change, we also put a bottle of Graves out of its misery!
It's always during the last few days before Christmas that doubts set in about the presents that you've chosen for your loved one. Was it a good idea to have bought her a pair of slippers with matching oven gloves*? How many times will she watch the DVD of the 2018 Six Nations rugby*? Will a new vacuum cleaner hit the spot*? ☺ While I think I'm pretty safe this year, there's always that lingering doubt. Too late to do anything about it now though.
* Just in case there's any doubt, I bought Madame none of the above! However, my brother once bought his wife (a stranger to the kitchen) a food processor. <ouch!> I believe he was seen wearing it not long after!
In the meantime, there's never a better moment than the shortest day of the year to enjoy the mountain scenery of the Pays Basque.. (full screen!) plus a report on Pierre Oteiza's pigs.. in Les Aldudes, a must-see village up in the Pyrenees close to the border..
19th December. Madame's presents have been safely smuggled into the house - I've just one more to wrap and then I'm done. I also need to take one last trip down to the cellar to make sure that there are no major shortfalls in the bottle department.
Most days I take a look at British Media online - and I shudder at much of the tosh I read there. New words continually bubble up to the surface of all the froth - and one curious addition to the trendy hack's lexicon is wellness. I have no idea what this means. Then there's the all-consuming obsession with celebrity - especially when the celebrities in question are total nonentities as far as I'm concerned. I'm convinced we have far too much media. I did ask a GP friend in England recently if he knew what wellness was and he had no idea. So what is it? Answers on a postcard please to the usual address.
Here's one of those hyper-concentrated videos that attempts, in the modern way, to cram the Pays Basque into a frantic 2½ minutes. To enjoy? Dilute to taste with a / few / many / glass(es) of sangria / Jurançon / Irouléguy / whisky (insert drink of choice) - and r-e-l-a-x!
18th December. A disturbing statistic for casual observers of the European Union: according to figures released by the federal statistical office, Germany had a surplus of €48.1bn in the first six months of 2018, equivalent to 2.9 per cent of economic output — the highest level since German reunification in 1990. By contrast, France, the other major EU political player, had a €58bn budget deficit in 2017.
How long can this dysfunctional situation be allowed to continue? It should be enough to send shivers up and down the spines of economists throughout Europe - and indeed further afield. The adoption of the euro by all those EU countries was, and is, a triumph of post-sixties wishful thinking, inspired perhaps by smoking too many exotic cigarettes (think John Lennon's 1971 hit "Imagine"), and unchallenged by economic reality and common sense. Germany's economists saw the potential advantage for them in a flash and quickly convinced their politicians to ditch the mighty D-mark in favour of the euro, as they saw that by doing so it would serve to preserve and enhance their economic dominance. Had Germany retained the D-mark, it would by now have had to be revalued upwards at least once. However, following the switch to the one-size-fits-all euro, they are making serious amounts of hay while the euro is pegged artificially low for the German economy.
And curiously, at a time when Macron is under pressure from popular opinion, French political commentators are unwilling to make the link publicly between France's economic woes and the contraints imposed by being in the eurozone. The EU project - beloved of post-war French politicians - is an article of faith for politicians of the mainstream parties. How long will this mindset continue to be the case after the UK's departure?
And curiously, at a time when Macron is under pressure from popular opinion, French political commentators are unwilling to make the link publicly between France's economic woes and the contraints imposed by being in the eurozone. The EU project - beloved of post-war French politicians - is an article of faith for politicians of the mainstream parties. How long will this mindset continue to be the case after the UK's departure?
One of these days someone will come along and explain to me how two countries such as Germany and Greece (but I could equally use France these days) with two totally disparate economies can possibly share a common currency. I think I'll have a long wait. Europe is paying the price for allowing French federalists (with their long-held ambition of setting up a European Superstate to take on the US) free rein with their flights of fancy nurtured in the rarified hot house atmospheres of their Grandes Ecoles. To my Anglo-Saxon mind, 'events' happen when they come about as a result of popular demand from the electorate - not when they are imposed, unasked for, by a political élite.
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| Peppone, 31 Cours Georges Clémenceau, 33000 Bordeaux |
We're now nearing the end game of my request for French citizenship (Naturalisation) and so we went up to Bordeaux yesterday in good time (in case the gilets jaunes were up to their tricks on the autoroute) to be ready for the interview at 2pm. We had a couple of hours to spare so no prizes for guessing how we filled in the time! We found an authentic, quaint and oh-so-typical small Italian restaurant - Peppone - where we could have been in Italy. The photos say it all. (take a look down in their wine cellar - a feast for the eyes!) Fortunately, we'd arrived early and we had no trouble finding a table - but it is small - so say no more.. Great attentive service and excellent food. This is definitely one to return to. (I've added it to the Restaurant map)
Suitably refreshed, we made our way to the Préfecture where I was strapped in a chair under hot lights - no, seriously, it was really all quite civilised.. A lady came down at the appointed hour and we went through into a small interview room where she ran me through all the possible questions that officialdom could conceivably wish to ask in making its mind up about such an application. I think it was carried out in a relaxed manner - she had a form to guide her through the process that covered every aspect and we went through it all. After this meeting, I'm hoping that my application will be signed off by the Préfet of Nouvelle-Aquitaine - following which it will be sent up to Paris to be signed off (or not!) by Mr Christopher Castaner, the Minister of the Interior (at the time of writing). Once this has happened, I can expect to be invited to Pau (the capital of Pyrénées-Atlantiques) in the May/June 2019 time frame along with other successful local applicants for a short ceremony where we will all be presented with our new French passports. Phew!We picked up Nutty on the way home - he'd had to spend a night and a day in the kennels - and then home for a quick bite before I was off out for choir practice. I must say that my enthusiasm low level warning light came on steady RED at 10pm when our choir leader decided we were going to start learning a new piece - right there and then. That had been one loong day! (Spoilt only by getting 'flashed' on the autoroute way home from Bordeaux.. Grr!)
16th December. This beautiful oboe piece comes from the soundtrack of "The Mission" - a film I saw once in the late 80s and couldn't get into. You might remember the film for the disturbing scene in which a Jesuit priest, lashed to a wooden cross, is launched on a river and goes over the Iguaçu Falls..
12th December. With less than 2 weeks to go before you-know-what, I have to say that - so far - I haven't received an invitation to a single bunga bunga party! Only joking! Wasn't it Bill Bryson who said that, at his age, he now views sex as a welcome chance for a lie down!* (I agree!) (Eek! What am I saying?!)
* In modern parlance, that would be a "lie down with benefits"..
Anyway, moving swiftly on, I have to make a start on writing Christmas cards - so, I suggest you find something to occupy yourself with for the next few hours.
At a time when earthbound media is huffing and puffing over such events as the "No Confidence" vote being triggered in the UK this morning - or that French lawyers (en colère*) are demonstrating outside the courts this morning over recent "preventive control" measures taken during the ongoing gilets jaunes disturbances - despite all that, it's worth taking a step back to absorb the fact that we are the first generation of human beings in history ever to know the colour of a Martian sunset. That's a staggering thought isn't it? And how many different technologies had to be present to enable this photograph?
Here it is (at no extra charge!) - I believe this was taken on Mars in 2015 and I've only just found out about it in 2018 - there were clearly far more important events happening. Like what for example?
* Strikers, demonstrators or simply just malcontents are routinely described as being en colère here.. It just means that they're furious, angry, not happy or - insert word of choice.
8th December. Walked to town this afternoon to pick up a few things for Christmas.. it was so warm that we stopped off at this café on the banks of the Nive and had a hot chocolate and a pancake each in the sunshine.
7th December. We're back after a few days away (just to give Madame a break before Christmas). We went down to Saint-Jean-de-Luz today - I'd received a letter from the Prefecture in Bordeaux (in connection with my request for French citizenship) telling me that they wanted to see me up there on 17th December - armed with more copies of paperwork that they already have in their possession. This time we need a letter from our bank in St-J-d-L that states that we have a joint bank account there - and it's active. I don't question any of this any more - I just do it.
On the way down to the bank, we spotted a group of swimmers having a swim in the bay (above) - no wet suits either!
It was around 17-18°, sunny with a cloudless sky so after calling in at the bank, we drove around to Socoa for lunch at Chez Pantxua.. We sat outside in the dazzling sunshine and had one of our best ever lunches there.
